Loving With No Conditions, Hating With No Reasons
by cheetahchatter21
Summary: When new evidence is uncovered three years after the murder of a high school girl, the Cold Case Team must close her tragic case once and for all before the killer strikes again. LRSV! please RR! I'm all done, I hope you enjoyed reading it!
1. An Intro to Hatred

**A/N: I didn't get a chance to finish my last story, and I realized that I included some details that did not make sense and were nearly irreparable. So, here's a new fanfic with a different story line, hope you enjoy!**

_**October 16**__**th**__**, 2004**_

_High school junior Sofia Jackson stood with her boyfriend—and best friend—Jeremy Haspiel backstage in a community auditorium. Jeremy was preparing to give a very important speech to a large group of people, pertaining to the poor condition of the schools in the area. His ideas were well-liked among the student body and all his teachers, and they suggested that he bring it up with the board of education, along with the entire community. Sofia could tell how nervous he was by his body language alone— his shaking knees and the sweat forming on his brow were just extra giveaways. _

"_You'll do fine," she told him reassuringly._

"_I-I don't know i-if I c-can do this," Jeremy said. He had always had a stutter when he spoke. This didn't normally keep him from talking in front of people, but he had never had to give a speech to so many people before. She didn't blame him, though; the quick head count Sofia took earlier at least two hundred people sat, waiting to hear his words._

_Sofia's blue eyes gazed into Jeremy's brown ones. "You _can_ do this. You are the strongest, bravest person I have ever met. Have faith in yourself."_

"_Hey, so when does the clown perform?" came a cruel voice from the background. A tall figure emerged from the door leading outside. Sofia and Jeremy immediately recognized him as Raymond Gardner, the varsity quarterback on their school football team and one of the meanest people alive. He would pick at a person's every flaw until they had no self-esteem left in them._

"_You know, I don't think you're on the schedule, Gardner," Sofia replied._

"_Very funny," he responded sarcastically. "I mean stutter boy over there. Honestly, _this_ should be a good laugh. H-he c-can't g-get t-two w-words o-o-out," he laughed in cruel mockery._

"_Don't," said Jeremy. "S-stop, or I—"_

"_You'll do what?" he said, stepping forward, sizing him up. Face to face, their size difference was even more noticeable than it normally was. Gardner was six-foot-three, two hundred fifty pounds of pure muscle, while Jeremy was five-eight and barely one fifty. _

"_Stop it, both of you," Sofia demanded, stepping between the two boys. "Gardner, you have no right to talk to him like that. Why don't you do us all a favor and get the hell out of here."_

"_Sofia, why are you here with this loser anyway? With boobs that big, you could have any man in this city," Gardner responded, reaching for Sofia's chest. She slapped him hard across the face, and stopped Jeremy from doing worse. _

"_Get out. Now."_

"_Fine. I've gotta go anyway, before I'm caught talking to you." With that statement, Gardner left the area, leaving the two others alone._

"_I-If he _ever_ tr-tries to grab you again, I-I will k-kill him."_

"_I'll appreciate it then. Are you ready?" Sofia asked._

"_I-I don't know. P-people w-will laugh, w-won't they?"_

"_No. When you get up there, your words will be so powerful that no one would dare make fun of you." Jeremy looked down at his feet. Sofia wrapped him in a hug and kissed him lightly on the cheek. "You'll be fine."_

"_I love you," he said clearly._

"_I love you too," she replied before he kissed her. "The homecoming dance is in three hours," she stated, pulling away from him._

"_Yes. Th-this m-meeting is only t-two hours long. Meet y-you at the school?" _

"_Eight o'clock sharp. Don't be late," Sofia replied._

_A woman walked up to the two teens. "Excuse me, but Jeremy's speech is in five minutes. You'll have to leave, miss," she said, walking out once again._

"_I'm sorry I can't stay."_

"_N-no problem. F-front doors a-at eight?"_

"_I'll be there."_

_Jeremy never imagined that this would be the last time he ever saw her. _

_Sadly, for once in her life, Sofia couldn't keep to her word. Jeremy sat at the front doors, waiting for her to show up. He knew there had to be something wrong when she didn't answer her cell phone after calling numerous times. After over an hour of waiting, Jeremy left the dance alone, wondering where she could be. Never did he imagine that her body would be found the next morning. She was in her homecoming dress, lying under bushes fifty yards from her school._

_The trauma somehow made Jeremy's stutter disappear. Of course, he hardly ever smiled or laughed afterwards, especially when he found out the police had given up on her case, filing it away, labeling it "COLD."_


	2. Notes from the Past

Six o'clock A.M. was not the usual time the Cold Case team came to work, but this morning was different. The person who called them in sounded urgent, but refused to give details over the phone. Lilly Rush rubbed her eyes and sipped on a coffee as she walked into not the office, but a construction site that was, until recently, South County High School.

"What are we doing _here_," she asked Scotty Valens.

"Remember Sofia Jackson?" Scotty asked.

Lilly furrowed her brow in thought for a moment. "Vaguely. Not really, though, can you fill me in?"

"Junior in high school, straight A student, volunteered at a children's home. Her body was found in those bushes right over there," he pointed to an area close to where a bulldozer sat. "She was shot, one clean bullet to her chest."

"And no one saw anything? There isn't anywhere he could've hidden," Lilly pointed out.

"Not anymore, but three years ago there was a forest over there. You couldn't see anything through the thick brush, but there was a small clearing past it. Someone could've easily hidden behind there and pushed her body into the hedges without notice."

"Okay. So anyway, why are we here?" Lilly asked again.

"They haven't told us yet. Stillman's talking to them now," he replied.

"Talking to who?"

"I don't know."

It wasn't long before Kat joined the two and their conversation. She didn't know why they were at a construction site at six in the morning as well, although Stillman shortly came over. In his hands, he held a shoebox.

"Before you ask," Stillman began, "I will answer all your questions. Save time by not asking them and letting me explain. While the workers were digging, they came across this box their dirt pile. Unfortunately, they don't know exactly where the box was buried because they didn't find it until after it had been pulled out of the ground, and they're pretty sure it didn't come from the last hole they dug."

"What's in the box?" Scotty blurted out.

"Didn't I tell you not to ask questions? I'm getting there! In this box, they found a picture of Sofia Jackson, her missing necklace—"

"What missing necklace?" Lilly asked.

"I'm getting there! She always wore a heart-shaped locket around her neck that had a picture of her and Jeremy Haspiel in it."

"Jeremy Haspiel?" Kat questioned.

"Again with the questions! Jeremy Haspiel was her best friend since she was five. They started dating as sophomores."

"Wait, Jeremy Haspiel—is that the same Jeremy Haspiel who brought the needs of the area's schools to attention?" asked Scotty.

"One and the same. In fact, the day she died was the same day that he first proposed plans for the new school district. He was only a junior in high school then."

"That's impressive."

"Yes. Anyway, back to the box. They found a picture of her— presumably taken the day before she died— her necklace, and a note. The note," he began before any members of his team could ask another question, "well, let's just say you can read the note for yourself." Stillman reached into the box, pulled out a piece of paper, and handed it to Lilly. The note was written using letters from newspapers and magazines, and held a chilling message.

_November Eighteenth, Two Thousand and Four_

_To Whom It May Concern:_

_I shot Sofia Michelle Jackson in the chest, point blank, with a twenty-two-caliber bullet at Seven Thirty Eight P.M. on October Sixteenth, Two Thousand and Four. Her death was not premeditated; I wanted to kill someone else that night. After I shot her, though, I couldn't imagine killing anyone else then. But in a little over a month, I have changed. Human life means little to me anymore. I will kill again in exactly three years from this moment. On November Eighteenth, Two Thousand and Seven, Jeremy Peter Haspiel will DIE. Even if you find this in time, you will not catch me._

"We need to talk to Jeremy," said Scotty, immediately after reading the note.

"Yes," Lilly agreed. "And we need to talk to him now. Jeremy Haspiel is scheduled to die tomorrow."


	3. HookUps and Betrayals

"Let's go back to headquarters. We can figure out what to do from there," Stillman suggested. Without another word, the cold case team hurried to their cars. Before Lilly could get into hers, however, Stillman called her aside.

"Have you talked to the therapist yet?"

"Yes, I have," she lied.

"That's good. Are you doing any better?"

"I'm fine," she answered untruthfully. Her boss, however, could see the anguishing look in her eyes and decided to press the matter harder.

"No, you're not. I can tell. You're still not yourself, Lilly, and that's okay. You were shot! Maybe you came back to work too soon."

"No," she answered defiantly. "I am fine. Well, I _was_ fine."

"What's the matter, then?"

"The note. Whoever killed Sofia was probably a teenager, right? Someone she disagreed with at school—just a theory here, but let's go with it for a second. He is disregarding human life. What person all of a sudden decides that he doesn't care whether or not another person on this earth is dead at his hands or not? I can't imagine how anyone could murder with no remorse, especially a kid."

"Don't get too beaten up about it," Stillman told her. "We meet murderers every day. Some are worse than others. You've been at this job long enough to know that you can't get too attached to any case, any killer, any victim."

"I know," she said. "We need to get going, we have a sociopath to catch."

"What do we do about Jeremy Haspiel?" Kat asked back at the precinct.

"We find him, duh," answered Scotty.

"'Duh.' How mature of you, Scotty. But I agree with the rest of it. Today is November seventeenth, and, according to the note, he will be murdered tomorrow. The best thing we can do is find him and put him in protective custody," Lilly suggested.

"Good idea," Kat agreed. "I can go find him and bring him here."

At that moment, Will Jeffries entered the room. "I'm sorry I couldn't make it to the construction site, can someone fill me in?"

As his colleagues gave him the details in the case, he decided he would accompany Kat to pick up Jeremy Haspiel. "I can go with her," he said.

"You do that. Don't give him too many details until he is here in our precinct, all right?" Stillman requested.

"Can do, boss," they replied, leaving the room.

"Can I see the box?" asked Lilly.

"Yes, you can," Stillman replied, handing her the shoebox. "I have to go now, so you two can sort through that until they return with Jeremy. Good luck."

"Thanks," they replied listlessly while opening the box. However, along with the three items they were told about, they found a lot of tinsel as well.

"Why didn't they mention all this tinsel?" Scotty asked.

"No clue," Lilly replied. "Let's dump it out and sort through it that way. These three things were on top, maybe there's something else in here as well."

Lilly emptied the box on a table and began to spread out the tinsel. Before she could start looking through it thoroughly, however, Scotty reached out and grabbed her hand.

"What are you doing?" she asked.

"Lil, I want you to know that I am so sorry for the way I acted."

"Go on . . ."

Scotty took a deep breath and continued. "I want you to know that I am really sorry. I should have told you everything a long time ago."

"What are you talking about?"

"I was selfish, and proud, and angry at a lot of things. But when you were shot, I think all of that changed. Nothing has ever scared me more than that moment when I thought I'd lose you. I thought I lost you, but you pulled through! I need you to know that you are the only person I can ever love, and that no one could ever replace you. I love you, Lil, and I always have," he said.

"Scotty . . ."

"You don't have to say anything. Just think about that for a second. I want you to know that I will always be here for you."

"Whether I want you or not?" she said with a slight smile.

"Exactly," he replied, grinning back. He kissed her forehead softly and looked away quickly. "Anyway, we should get back to this box here." He sifted through the tinsel as Lilly picked up the golden, heart-shaped locket. She opened it and gazed at the picture of Sofia and Jeremy together.

"They look so happy together. It's such a shame, she was very pretty," Lilly said. She was right; Sofia had a pretty, round face with dark brown hair, porcelain skin, and light blue eyes. Her features worked well together, and she had a beautiful smile. Jeremy was as attractive as she was, with light brown hair, warm brown eyes, and a slight tan. His eyes lit up as he smiled in the picture, and he seemed to care about nothing else than his girlfriend beside him.

"Yeah, they sure do look happy. I wonder how he managed to cope with her death?"

Lilly shook her head. "I don't know anything about him, but something tells me that he was never able to get past her murder."

"What makes you say that?"

"Just a . . . hunch of sorts. Have you found anything in the tinsel?"

"Nope. I think that we've found everything in this box," he responded.

"Can we find any developing information on the picture?" Lilly asked.

"I don't think so. There isn't even a brand on the photo paper. I don't think we're going to find anything from that."

There was a moment of silence between them, before Lilly started to speak. "Scotty?"

"Yes?"

"There's something you need to know."

He looked up from his work. "Yes?"

"It's important . . ." she continued.

"I've gathered that. What do you need to tell me?"

"It's . . . complicated. I have too much stuff going on in my life to get involved in a serious relationship now."

"I understand completely," he nodded.

"But you have to know that I love you too. With all my heart."

Scotty smiled. "I'll wait for you, Lil."

"Thanks. I knew you would."

The two leaned into each other. Scotty gazed into Lilly's eyes, and before long, his lips met hers. Each one thought kissing the other felt so right, as though they were made for each other. Reluctantly, they pulled their faces apart when they realized that they were still at work, still under the eye of their boss.

It wasn't long afterwards that Kat and Will walked back into the precinct, followed by an older Jeremy Haspiel. Although they could see his younger self, standing in his place, something was different about him. He had lost a lot of the brightness and charm he carried in that one picture. The young man followed the two detectives with a straight face, showing no expression whatsoever.

"Well, we found him," Kat said.

Lilly extended her hand. "I'm Detective Rush, and this is my partner, Detective Valens."

Jeremy shook her hand. "Pleasure," he said, and they realized that his speech was not as Stoic as his face seemed. "Now will someone please explain why I had to come in?"

"Yes," said Scotty. "You can follow me and Detective rush to an interrogation room, and we will explain everything there."

Once the three of them were in the interrogation room, Scotty began to explain the story.

"We have new information in the murder of Sofia Jackson."

Though Jeremy's expression didn't change at all, he dropped his jaw a little and gasped. "Do you know who killed her? What have you found out?"

"Not yet. But something more urgent, that new evidence included a threat on your life. According to a note we found, the same person who murdered Sofia is going to try and kill you tomorrow."

"So that's why I'm here?" Jeremy asked.

"Yes. We are doing everything we can to find her killer before he has a chance to do anything," said Lilly. "Plus we are putting you in protective custody. We promise that you are safe with us."

Jeremy shook his head. "This is perfect," he said sarcastically. "Maybe it will help things though," he added on a side note."

"Help what things?" asked Scotty.

"I can't show expression, as you probably noticed. I haven't smiled in three years. Most people assume I don't feel anything as well, but that's not true. I just couldn't cope with her death."

"Three years? That's sad," Lilly commented.

"Three years. I lost the one person I loved most with no warning. That would screw anyone."

"I can understand that," Scotty said.

"Is there anything you remember about the time before she died? Anything that could help solve the case?" Lilly questioned.

"Now that you mention it," Jeremy began, "there _was_ one incident that was pretty strange."

"What?" asked Lilly.

"See, I was a loser in high school. I was used to getting picked on by most of the jocks at the school. But Sofia got along with everyone. No one ever picked on her for anything. When I was around her, no one would usually bother either of us. Everyone loved her . . . or, so I thought . . ."

_**October 13**__**th**__**, 2004**_

_Jeremy and Sofia stood in the Commons at South County High School, just hanging out and minding their own business until their next class started. _

"_You're going to AP Bio, right?" Sofia asked her boyfriend._

"_Yeah. Th-that is one h-hard-ass c-class."_

_Before Sofia could respond, a group of kids walked over to them. One of them included Margaret Peterson, one of Sofia's best friends. The other people were the type of people neither Sofia nor Margaret usually hung around with (Raymond Gardner included in this group), so Sofia gave her friend an odd look as she approached her._

"_Oh lookie, Jeremy and Sofia are together again, all over each other," said one girl, Sally Hansen. "So weird."_

"_Th-that's the p-pot calling the k-kettle b-black," Jeremy replied, referring Sally and her boyfriend Kyle, who could hardly ever keep their hands off each other. Jeremy and Sofia, however, were only talking—PDA wasn't their style._

"_Yeah, well, Kyle isn't a pathetic dork trying to fit in and I'm not a fat slut, either!" Sally retorted._

_Sofia, avoiding an argument, said nothing at the statement, and indicated to Jeremy to do the same. The others, however, wouldn't stop taunting them._

"_Well hey," Gardner butted in, "I guess dating the little whore is the only way Haspiel will ever get laid."_

"_WHAT?!" Sofia exclaimed, unable to contain herself. "What are you talking about? We haven't done anything!" She turned to Margaret and grabbed her arms. "_You_ know I haven't. Why are you letting them say this, Maggie?"_

"_Oh, Maggie here told us you're taking birth control pills," said Sally._

_Sofia's mouth dropped open. She looked very upset, and Jeremy was livid. No one had the right to talk to her like that. He didn't know what to say, though—he knew she was on these meds, but he also knew it was none of his business and had never made her talk about it. He knew he had to protect her, though._

"_D-don't you d-dare t-talk about her l-like that! Th-that is n-none of your effing b-business!"_

"_Well, it's true!" Maggie blurted out. _

_Sofia gave her friend a look of betrayal. "How could you? You KNOW why I'm taking them, and it has nothing to do with having sex!" _

_Maggie looked at her feet. "I . . . I . . ."_

"_So, why else would you be on them?" Sally asked, smirking, while her boyfriend, Kyle, made a dirty gesture and laughed._

"_That is NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" Sofia shouted at them, tears welling up in her eyes. "And Maggie, why would you _ever_ tell someone about that? I trusted you!" Without another word, Sofia stormed off._

"I'd never seen her so upset," Jeremy finished.

"Some friend Maggie was, huh?" Scotty commented.

Jeremy shook his head. "She was usually really nice. Very loyal and protective of Sofia, I was shocked she could do something like that. Sofia trusted her with everything, even more things than she talked to me about."

Lilly nodded. "And Maggie betrayed her trust. How'd that affect their friendship?"

"I don't know. I didn't run into Maggie until Sofia's funeral."

"Thanks for your help," Scotty told Jeremy. "You can stay here in the precinct for a while until we can get you to a more private facility."

The three of them walked to the doors. "What will you do when we catch her killer?" asked Lilly.

For a moment, they seemed to see a teenaged Jeremy when he said: "Hope they'll be sent to jail to rot, but I can't do much beyond that. Sometimes people hate for no reason. Whoever killed Sofia was one of those people. No good can ever come from those people consumed by hate acting on their feelings. Too many lives are destroyed. I couldn't let that happen."


	4. And Who Needs Enemies?

"So," Lilly began as she and her partner walked back into the main room of the precinct, "I think we should talk to Margaret Peterson, Sofia's best friend."

"That's a good idea," said Scotty. He turned to Kat and Will and repeated everything Jeremy had told them. "Do you want us to find her?" he asked when he was finished explaining.

"Nah," she replied, "We can go. It's our turn to interview someone." She and Will left the office to try and find Sofia's best friend.

After a quick computer search, Kat and Will discovered that Maggie was now attending University of Pennsylvania. Upon their arrival, they managed to find a dean who could lead them to her.

"Maggie's in class right now," said the dean. "Is this important?"

"Yes, we believe so," Will answered. They followed the dean to a classroom where a gaudy professor was giving a lecture on philosophy.

"Excuse me, Professor Sanchez? We need to borrow Margaret Peterson for a moment."

"Sure," the professor answered, "Of course. Margaret, you are excused."

A young woman rose from her seat, collected her books, and walked out of the room to where the detectives stood. "What's this about?" she asked.

"We have some new evidence in Sofia Jackson's murder," Kat explained.

"Really?!" Maggie exclaimed with an unreadable expression on her face. Kat labeled it as some sort of mixture between happiness, anger, confusion, and several others that probably should not be used all at one time.

"Yes," said Will. "We have some things we have to ask about. We heard that you were Sofia's best friend, is that right?"

"Yes—well, best friend after Jeremy, that is. She loved both of us, but she and Jeremy were soul mates."

"Alright, and she trusted you with a lot, right?"

"Yes, everything."

"We hear you betrayed that trust one time," Kat commented. "Told everyone she was taking birth control pills?"

Maggie's face fell solemn. She looked at her feet briefly before turning back up to the detectives. "Sofia was my best friend, and I have never forgiven myself for that. I can't even tell you what I was thinking when I did that. I was . . . mad at her, I guess. She was on them to control her cramps every month, and that was it. But she had a well-known reputation as a "good girl," and I didn't actually think that people would believe she was sleeping around. I guess some people are just so ready to believe everything they hear, even if it makes no sense whatsoever."

"Did you make up?" asked Kat.

"Yes. She forgave me, even though she didn't have to. But she was always willing to forgive and forget."

"Were you and Jeremy close at all?"

"Yes, we _were_ really good friends. I haven't talked to him in . . . oh, I'd say three years. After Sofia died, we both went a little crazy," she added, answering Kat's question before she could ask it.

"Can you remember anything about the time before her death? Anything that could help us solve this?"

"Yes," Maggie answered quickly. "I do, and I wanted to tell the police this but I didn't get the chance before they stopped investigating."

"Well, now's your chance. What happened?"

"Well, I was apologizing to Sofia for what I did . . ."

_**October 15, 2004**_

"_What do you want, Maggie?" asked a very sore Sofia._

"_I wanted to apologize. I was kind of a jackass."_

_Sofia raised her eyebrows. "Kind of?"_

"_Okay, so I was a lot of a jackass. I feel terrible for what I did to you, and I want to make it up to you somehow."_

"_How do you plan on doing that?"_

_Maggie paused for a moment. "I don't know. I could take you to the mall! I'll buy you anything you want, and I won't object. I'm really, _really _sorry."_

"_Why did you do it?"_

" _. . . I don't know. I just wasn't thinking. I feel absolutely shitty for it."_

"_It's all right. I forgive you. Just please don't ever do that again, will you?"_

"_Never!"_

"_Good. So, mall?"_

"_Yes. How about Sunday after the dance?"_

_Sofia smiled. "That'd be fun! Victoria's Secret?"_

"_Sure! We can go bra shopping, and then we can go guy shopping!" Maggie laughed. _

_Sofia laughed along with her friend. "Nah, you can go guy shopping. I'm with Jeremy, remember?"_

"_Yeah . . . speaking of, there he is!" The two girls looked around and saw Jeremy talking with a couple of his other friends. They were laughing and chatting and minding their own business before Gardner showed up._

_Gardner walked right up to Jeremy and grabbed his shoulders roughly. "Stay away from her! Stay the hell away from her!"_

_Jeremy made a quick move and kicked Gardner hard before squirming out of the football player's grasp._

"_What the hell are you talking about?" asked one of Jeremy's friends._

"_Stutter boy here knows EXACTLY what I'm talking about!"_

"_N-no, I d-don't!" Jeremy exclaimed in defense._

"_Think on it hard. You're not an idiot. And if you ever, EVER hurt her again, I will kill you. Hear that? I'LL KILL YOU!"_

" . . . And that's all I remember," Maggie finished.

"So Gardner was threatening Jeremy. Do you know why?" asked Will.

"No, I never got a chance to asked. I just assumed it was Gardner being, well, Gardner. He had a quick temper."

"Thanks for your help. If there's anything else, just let us know, all right?"

"Sure, no problem. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to go back to class now." Maggie went back to her classroom, and Kat and Will left the campus.

"So, we should get Raymond Gardner to precinct," Kat suggested.

"Right," said Will, "And fast. It's already almost noon, and the clock is ticking fast."


	5. Author's Note

A/N:

Hey guys! I am sorry that I haven't updated my story in a while, but I've been working on something else that is REALLY important and could impact the rest of my life. So I'll write chapter five as soon as I can, but it could be a little while!!

Thanks!


	6. Maybe Sometimes there Might be Reasons?

Back at the precinct, and young man entered the room. The detectives immediately recognized him as Raymond Gardner, as he still had a football player physique. Muscular, tall, handsome; they could tell why his ego was as big as everyone said it was.

"Is there a reason I'm here?" he said exasperated, making them see a sixteen-year-old boy in his place for a brief moment.

"Yes. Do you remember Sofia Jackson?" Lilly asked.

"Yeah, kinda. I don't know what that has to do with me, though."

"New information was found in her death. She may not have been the real target."

Gardner raised his eyebrows. "Really? Who was?"

"We think that the killer was really after Jeremy Haspiel," Lilly answered.

Gardner's expression changed drastically in an instant. He no longer looked shocked—he looked angry. "Never mention _that name_ to me."

"Yeah," Lilly began. "We hear you had a pretty big beef with him. Said you'd kill him if he ever hurt someone again?"

"Yeah, I said that. But don't you go thinking that I'd kill Sofia because of what that bastard did. I didn't like either one of them, but I'd never kill Sofia. After she died, he went . . . weird. Stopped talking to anyone, stopped hanging with his friends, just basically stopped life except for that weird school project thing. I almost felt sorry for that asshole, which is probably the only reason I didn't break his neck then."

Scotty looked at him confusedly. "Why do you hate him so much?"

"Look. On the outside, he seems nice and sweet. But that son of a bitch was your Class-A asshole. He was evil, as far as I'm concerned. That nice guy façade couldn't hold up forever."

Each detective had the same look of shock on his or her face. They had spent time talking to Jeremy, and he seemed as nice and honest as anyone could be.

"Could you tell us what he did?" Lilly inquired.

"Oh yes, I can tell you . . ."

_**October 14, 2004**_

_Around nine o'clock, Gardner and a few of his friends hung out on the empty high school football field. None of them were doing anything of great importance, only tossing around a football. _

"_So Gardner," called one of his buddies, "Did ya get Sally yet?"_

_He chuckled in response. "No. No chance is she ever gonna leave Kyle for me. Heads up!" he yelled as he chucked a football at his friend._

"_Hey! Isn't that Sally over there?"_

_Gardner turned his head. Sure enough, the girl he longed to be with, Sally Hansen, stood a hundred feet away. She wasn't alone—Maggie was with her. Something, however, was not right. Sally was a mess; her hair was tangled and messy and her clothes were disheveled. She looked about ready to faint as well. Maggie held her close to keep her from falling over. Gardner stood up immediately and ran over to the two girls._

"_Sally, what's wrong?"_

_She looked up at him with bloodshot eyes. "I . . . I . . ." _

"_What happened?" he asked again._

"_Sally, sweetie," Maggie cooed, "Just tell us what happened. We're your friends, and we care about you."_

_Sally took a deep breath. "I was raped," she choked before bursting into tears._

"_Who did it?" Gardner demanded._

"_Sally, you have to tell us who," Maggie added. "We can call the police!"_

"_No," she said suddenly. "No police. They wouldn't believe me!"_

"_Well, then tell us who!"_

"_Okay," she said. "It was Jeremy Haspiel."_

" . . . She never did tell the police. She kept saying they wouldn't understand, or they wouldn't believe her or something. But I knew then that he was not anything like what he seemed," Gardner finished.

"So Jeremy raped Sally?"

"Yes, and Maggie and I were the only people who knew about it."

"Well," said Scotty, "I guess that's one thing Jeremy forgot to mention."


	7. Truth Comes Out

"You think I did _WHAT?_" Jeremy exclaimed when the detectives told him their new bit of information.

"Someone said you raped Sally Hansen," Lily accused. "Is it true?"

"No! I would never do that!"

"Tired of her picking on you and Sofia? Thought you might teach her a lesson?" Scotty added.

"No! Never! It wasn't like that! I didn't do that to her, I swear. Why would you think—oh. I know who would say that. Damn!"

"What?" Lily inquired.

"I know exactly what happened to Sally Hansen. She _was_ raped, but not by me . . ."

_**October 14, 2004**_

_Jeremy walked the vast hallways of his high school alone, taking notes on anything he found that should not be in an accredited school. 'In order to have any real credibility,' the administrators told him, 'you need constructive evidence of any problems.' He shuddered as he saw a rat scurrying across the floor next to him. No adult ever roamed these back hallways. In fact, only a few people knew they were really there. Some students would ditch class to get stoned and have sex back in this area, but they were never used for anything else. He continued walking, uneasy after seeing the rat. Not too much farther, Jeremy started hearing voices. They were muffled at first, but it definitely sounded like a girl and a boy. After a straining his ears a little, he could tell that the girl sounded very, very upset and the boy sounded very, very angry._

"_Oh shut up," the boy snapped. Jeremy moved closer, and peered through the window of an empty storage room. He lowered his head quickly, so neither of them would see him, but he got a good enough look to see Sally Hansen and her boyfriend, Kyle. Kyle was quickly dressing himself, but Sally was wearing nothing. She clutched her knees and buried her face in them._

"_I told you," Kyle said again, "Shut the hell up! Someone's gonna hear!"_

_Sally said nothing, but she continued crying._

"_Well, you deserved it," Kyle continued. "No one says no to me. Besides, you're just a little whore. It's not like I stole something from you, especially since we've done it before."_

"_I said no! I didn't want to! I don't love you anymore, Kyle!"_

_Jeremy couldn't see, but he heard Kyle strike Sally's face hard. _

"_Don't you say that. You're mine, you hear? Mine. Women exist only for men's pleasure. You got that? So if I want sex, I get it, no matter what the hell you say! I'm leaving now. You just pull yourself together and maybe put some clothes back on. We don't want the whole world knowing about this do we?"_

"_N-no," she sputtered._

"_Right. Good. I'm gonna get out of here. See ya later, baby."_

_Kyle opened the door and ran out without noticing Jeremy. He left the door to the room where Sally sat wide open, and Jeremy suspected he did it on purpose. Sally stood up and started gathering her clothes. Jeremy stood as well, but the floor creaked under him as he did._

"_Who's there?" Sally called out, clutching her clothes close to her. "I know you're there, just come out for God's sake!" Jeremy peered his head through the door. "How much did you hear?" Sally demanded._

"_E-enough," he answered. "He sh-shouldn't t-treat you l-like that."_

"_That's none of your business," she replied coolly. "Just go away."_

"_You n-need t-to tell s-someone. I-it's not r-right."_

"_JUST GET AWAY FROM ME! And if you tell anyone what he did to me, I will deny it."_

_Before Jeremy had a chance to respond, the two heard calling. "Sally! Yoo-hoo!" It was Maggie._

"_Just leave. Go, Haspiel!"_

" . . . So I left. I knew Kyle was a creep, but I didn't know he would do anything like that."

"So Kyle raped her, but she told everyone it was you?" Lily shook her head.

"I guess so. But that explains why Gardner hated me. He loved Sally—actually, it was more of an infatuation. It was pretty creepy, really."

"Why do you think Sally told him you raped her?"

"Probably because she was afraid I would say what really happened."

"You also mentioned that Maggie showed up?" Scotty asked.

"Yeah, she did. Sofia didn't know, but Maggie had been spending a lot of time with Sally. I know that she always looked up to them and wanted to be a part of their clique. She wanted Sofia to as well, and she hated that we started dating."

"Really?"

"Yeah. She was still friendly, but I could tell that she really wanted Sofia to do better. She was always shocked at how Sofia could ever date someone like me. I've wondered that myself, actually."

Before anyone else could say another word, Stillman burst into the interrogation room. "Jeremy," he said.

"What?"

"There's been an explosion in your apartment complex."

"Oh my God . . ."

"The bomb was set in your apartment."


	8. Threats and True Answers

The detectives stood next to a shaking Jeremy Haspiel in front of the place he had once called home. The nice apartment building had caved in; the walls were all but completely crumbled, and the roof was nonexistent.

"I knew you said they threatened me, but part of me didn't want to believe it. I guess now there's no hiding from the truth," mumbled a very frightened Jeremy.

"I'm so sorry," Lily consoled.

"How many people were in there?" he asked.

"It's too early to tell, but six bodies were already pulled from the rubble."

"They were after me. It's my fault," he said. Although his face still showed no expression, his voice quivered as if he was crying.

"It isn't your fault," said Scotty. "We're going to find the person responsible."

"Whoever did this murdered Sofia," Jeremy stated. "They murdered her and at least six other people."

"We'll catch them," Lily assured him.

"Can you promise that?"

Lily looked the boy straight in the eyes. "I promise."

"Thank you," Jeremy answered.

"Jeremy," Stillman walked up to them. "We need to get you back to the precinct where you'll be safer. Come with me," he said. Jeremy followed him to a car and they headed back to the precinct.

"Now what do we do?" Lily asked Scotty.

"I think we should talk to Maggie. She didn't say that Sally was her friend, and she certainly didn't mention that she thought Jeremy raped her."

"I think that is a good idea."

About an hour later, Maggie Peterson sat before the two detectives in an interrogation room at the precinct.

"Okay, so I didn't mention that I was friends with Sally Hansen," said Maggie, annoyed. "What does that have anything to do with Sofia's murder?"

"And she told you that she was raped," Scotty stated.

"Yeah, she did," Maggie answered. "But you didn't answer my question."

"It has a lot to do with Sofia's murder," Lily began, "Because her killer is also after Jeremy Haspiel. We think that he was the intended target. And we know that Sally told you that he raped her."

"That's what Sally said. She said they were alone and he just jumped on her."

"And you believed her?"

"Why not? She was my friend."

"But Jeremy was your friend too. And so was Sofia—Sally was mean to both of them."

"Sally wasn't generally a mean person," Maggie defended her friend. "She really wasn't. She just didn't like Sofia or Jeremy."

"Why not?"

"I don't know, she just didn't. Maybe because she was jealous of Sofia, but she would never admit it. Sofia was pretty, smart, and loved by everyone, and Sally wanted that. Jeremy was different, and she wasn't ready to accept anyone with flaws."

"So why did you want to be around her so much?"

"I just wanted to be a part of her clique. They always seemed so happy, so . . . free. They were everything I had always dreamed of being. If Sofia and I could've been a part of that, our lives would've been so much easier. But they hardly looked my way, and they would have never let Sofia anywhere near them . . ."

" . . . As long as she was dating Jeremy," Lily finished.

"Yeah."

"So did you know that she was lying about her rape?"

Maggie shook her head. "No, I didn't."

"Jeremy didn't rape her—Kyle did."

Maggie sighed. "Like I said, some people are just so ready to believe everything they hear, even if it makes no sense whatsoever."

"Including you?"

"Yeah. Including me."

"So does anything else stick out in your mind from that time? Anything that can help us solve this once and for all?" Lily inquired.

"I guess. There was something, it was the last time I ever saw her . . ."

_**October 15, 2004**_

_Maggie opened the door to the ladies' restroom at her high school. School had ended an hour earlier, so she was surprised to hear sniffling from around the corner. Most students were gone already, as it was the night before the homecoming dance, and no one really wanted to be around while the student council (of which she was a member) frantically tried to prepare the school for the upcoming game. It came as an even bigger shock to her, however, when she turned the corner to see that her best friend was the source of the sniffling. Sofia's eyes were red and puffy, and her nose matched them well._

"_Oh my gosh, Sofia!" Maggie exclaimed, hurrying to her crying friend. "What's wrong chica?"_

"_Nothing. Stupid people," she replied._

"_You don't sob in the bathroom over nothing. Who do I have to kill?"_

_Sofia laughed weakly. "I ran into Gardner today," she began._

"_Yeah? And? What happened?"_

"_He slapped me and told me that I was whore. A whore who screwed rapists, and I needed to learn my lesson."_

"_He said _what_?" Maggie exclaimed._

"_That's not the worst part. He said that if he got the chance, he'd kill Jeremy for hurting Sally."_

"_What he did was wrong, Sofia."_

_The crying girl shot her best friend a hostile look. "You don't believe that bull, do you?"_

"_I don't know, Sally seemed like she was in pretty bad shape."_

"_But it can't have been Jeremy! He would never do anything to hurt anyone, and you know that! What is wrong with you?"_

"_Yeah, I know. But she seemed so convincing."_

_Sofia looked at her incredulously. "I don't believe it," she said again._

"_Yeah, I guess I don't either," said Maggie._

"_So you'll stand by me and Jeremy?"_

"_Sofia, I'll always be there for you, and I'll always stand by you, no matter what."_

" . . . That was the last time I saw her. I left right after that," Maggie finished.

"So Gardner threatened her?" Lily asked.

"That's what she said. Gardner hit her and then told her he'd kill Jeremy."

"And," Scotty started, "knowing Gardner, this should not have been taken lightly."


	9. Accusations and Realizations

Lily sighed as she and Scotty left the interrogation room where Maggie sat. They both knew that Sofia had died for no good reason. The life if an innocent girl was snatched from her due the lies of others. Jeremy did nothing, but wild accusations of a deplorable act had destroyed his reputation. Although successful, both detectives knew that high school for him was a living hell. As if the death of his girlfriend wasn't enough, Jeremy had to live with horrible rumors of rape. And, although neither of them could say for sure, Lily and Scotty had a strong feeling that Sofia's murder was somehow related to Sally's rape.

"What's up?" Scotty asked Lily. She turned and stared intensely into his brown eyes, but looked away shortly.

"It's this case," she answered finally. "Something about this case is just . . . getting to me. I just feel so sorry for Jeremy. So young, and yet he's more troubled that anyone I've ever seen. The poor kid can't smile!"

"Yeah," Scotty agreed. "It's gotta be rough, but this isn't the first case where we've had to deal with stuff this harsh."

Lily looked expressionlessly at him, before finally breaking the silence. "That was insensitive. Just because we've dealt with 'stuff this harsh' doesn't mean it isn't tough to deal with!"

"I know—"

"And don't you ever get tired of it all? Don't you ever wish that it would all end?"

"Yeah, but—"

"'Yeah but' nothing," she growled. "You know what? I can't take it. I can't take how people hate for no reason. I can't take it when people ruin the lives of others just because they feel like it. It's hard! You don't know what it's like! My mother destroyed her own life and my childhood. That . . . _man_," she paused, not mentioning his name. Scotty knew instantly that she referred to the person who shot her. She continued, "That . . . _man_ tried to destroy my life. Was there any reason? Was there a reason for him to do that? Was there a _reason_ why Sally blamed Jeremy for her rape? Was there a _real reason_ why Sofia was murdered when she was sixteen? Was there? I don't think so!"

"You don't have to be so angry!" Scotty exclaimed. "No! There was no reason! There is always a reason, and, at the same time, never a reason. Love, hate, drugs, money, power—they're all 'reasons,' and yet never an excuse. As much as people deny it, there is no reason to kill and even less reasons to hate."

"Lily! Scotty!" Stillman barked. "Don't you have somewhere to be?"

The two of them looked at their boss with an agitated expression. They were having a nice discussion about . . . ethics? Come to think of it, it was probably a good thing that he interrupted them. Scotty did not under any circumstances enjoy this type of conversation. _Makes me feel like I need church_, he chuckled to himself.

Scotty turned to Lily and gestured her to follow him. They walked into the main area of the precinct and asked someone to contact Raymond Gardner. Unfortunately, this was met with little acquiescence.

"Do you think we have nothing else to do?" Kat laughed in rebuttal. "Honestly! We're just as busy as you are."

Scotty sighed. "Fine then, we'll call him ourselves." When they finally got him on the phone, Gardner reluctantly agreed to meet them again. When he did, they found that he behaved less than cooperatively.

"That little bitch!" Gardner shouted when the detectives confronted him with what Maggie had said. "She's been lying to you!"

"I don't know," Lilly sneered. "You seem to have quite a temper, I'd believe every word she said!"

"Where were you about an hour ago?" Scotty demanded harshly.

"I was at the gym, working out, with about five other people. Ask anyone," he claimed in his own defense.

"Oh, we'll be sure to," Lilly replied coldly. She glared at him icily, eyes like daggers, with such an intensity that the football star nearly broke a sweat.

"Why do you need my alibi?" he asked finally, avoiding Lilly's deadly gaze.

"Someone blew up Jeremy Haspiel's apartment building," Scotty answered, careful not to divulge any critical information. "At least six people were killed. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you?"

"No! I already told you, I've been working out for the last two hours. Now if that's all, I'd really like to go now—"

"Not quite," Lilly interrupted. "We still need to talk to you about that run-in you had with Sofia. Did you threaten her?"

Gardner bit his lip and furrowed his brow in a concentration that really did not suit his face. "I don't really remember."

"How convenient," Scotty remarked.

"No, I mean I don't remember exactly what I said. I know we had a confrontation, and I know I said some things that I didn't mean—"

"Did you hit her?"

"I don't remember! God, just give me a second! And even if I did, it served her right. She was nothing but a little bitch. She and Haspiel both deserved whatever they got. It should've been him who got shot, though. Damned rapist."

"Jeremy didn't rape Sally, Gardner. Her boyfriend did."

"That's a lie. Kyle wouldn't have—he couldn't have—he . . . he . . . could have. He would have. Who the hell am I kidding," he added to himself. To the detectives, he continued, "Kyle was a class-A jerk, the king of all ass-holes. But you wanna know the truth?"

"Yes!" Lily cried in frustration. "Hello! WHY ARE WE EVEN HERE?!"

"Geez, lady! It was a rhetorical question! The truth is, Maggie was in love with Kyle. She would do anything to protect him, even lie. In my opinion, she's the one who you've gotta talk to, not me."

"What did she do?" asked Scotty.

"I saw her with Kyle. Let me tell you, that was some pretty crazy stuff . . ."

_**October 15, 2004**_

_The day before homecoming, Raymond Gardner wandered the halls of his high school, anticipating the game for the following day. The aspiring football star really had nothing else to go on besides his talent, and tomorrow's game could be his big break. He was smart, but his grades weren't very good—honestly, why should _he_ bother in school? He ran down the hallway and jumped up, slapping the ceiling like so many high school boys do. Adrenaline pumped through his veins, and nothing could ruin this moment. Nothing, not even those two people making out in the corner. Gardner laughed to himself. PDA always made him feel a little awkward, though he would never admit it. He turned once more to the couple and saw Kyle—and Maggie._

_Quickly, so they wouldn't see him, Gardner darted into the nearest door. Okay, eavesdropping really wasn't something he normally sought to do, but this was a juicy piece of gossip he just _had_ to get in on._

"_Ohh Kyle," he heard Maggie moan. "I love you. I love you so much. And we can be together. We can be together, with no one to stop us."_

"_But I'm still technically with Sally. You know that, she doesn't have it in her to break up with me."_

"_Then leave her! She doesn't care about you! She wouldn't give you what you _really_ wanted," Maggie added seductively. "I can. I will. Don't you see baby? We deserve each other."_

"_We do have one problem, though," Kyle began. "Jeremy."_

"_How's he a problem?"_

"_You know those . . . rumors about him? About what he did to my girlfriend?"_

"_Yeah, I've heard about that. You don't think he actually did it, do you?"_

"_Well, I don't know for sure," he replied. He was obviously lying, but Maggie didn't quite catch it. "But I think he might try to pin it on me. I think he might say that I did it."_

"_Yeah, that little bastard _would_ spread that sort of rumor, wouldn't he?"_

"_You know he would, and he's going to. You know I could never hurt a woman, even if she is just a whore. Jeremy's just a little snake, wanting the whole world to love him. He really wants to break us up. Him and Sofia? They don't want you and me to be happy together. They don't care about you."_

"_You're absolutely right. They don't, do they? And here I was just chatting with Sofia, and she said she loved me. She's my best friend—and she hates me!"_

"_There is a way we can be together, though," said Kyle._

"_How?"_

"_Wouldn't it be great if Jeremy and Sofia were out of the way? We wouldn't have to worry about them spreading nasty rumors or trying to make sure we were miserable. Wouldn't it be wonderful if Jeremy Haspiel was dead?"_

"_I don't know, do you think that would work?"_

"_Yeah, I do."_

"_You're right," she said finally, after a long silence. "You are definitely right. Wouldn't it be great? Baby, I have a gun. If we could really be together forever, I could do it. I _will_ do it. Won't it be great? Together forever."_

"_It has to be soon, or they might get the rumors out. If it came out, we could never be together."_

"_Baby, I'll do it tomorrow. Jeremy won't make it to that dance."_

"Since it wasn't Jeremy who was killed, I didn't really think too much on it at the time."

"Yeah, well, that's something that you don't seem to do very often is it? Why wouldn't you tell us this in the first place?" Scotty shouted.

Gardner shrugged. "I just didn't really remember."

"How can we get in touch with Kyle?" Lily asked.

"You can't. He's dead. Last year he went out drinking with his friends. Got drunk up his ass and so high he didn't know the ceiling from the floor. The idiot then tried to drive home—southbound on a street that was one-way going north. Killed three people, including himself."

"But Maggie's still around," Scotty commented. "And as far as we can tell, she's the one who pulled the trigger."

Before anyone could speak another word, a gunshot echoed through the building. It sounded like it came from outside, but they couldn't tell. The detectives ran out of the room and saw a woman in a black tracksuit and mask holding a smoking gun. She had fired into the air, and did the same a second time. They could see her hair and recognized whom it belonged to immediately. Maggie came back, and she was set to finish what she started three years earlier.


	10. A Resolution

The precinct fell quiet after Maggie fired the first shot

The precinct fell quiet after Maggie fired the first shot. The blast from the gun rang through the office, leaving a harsh, frightening silence that lingered for a moment that seemed like hours. The deadness in the atmosphere lasted only a few seconds before Maggie fired off three more shots. She bolted through a door and ran to the detectives.

"Everybody get down!" she cried.

"Maggie, you don't want to do this," Scotty began.

"Shut up!" she screamed. "You have no idea!"

"Maggie, please put the gun down," Lily pleaded. "We won't hurt you, just please put the gun down."

"You're liars! All of you! You're all horrible, filthy liars! Everyone is! They all lie to me!"

"Who lied to you, Maggie?" Lily asked kindly. She realized that Maggie's mind was not in its right place; her behavior was childish, and she spoke with the apparent mental age of seven or eight.

"All of them . . . all of them . . ."

"Did Kyle lie to you?"

At these words, Maggie lowered her gun and cocked her head. Her glossy eyes seemed more focused on reality, and when she spoke, she seemed much more mature. "How do you know about Kyle?"

"We know that he lied to you. We know what he did."

Maggie sneered. "Ha! I bet you have no idea."

"He told you that you two could be together forever," said a voice from another room. The detectives turned around to see Jeremy standing unprotected outside of the interrogation room. "And then he turned around and left you."

"You!" Maggie exclaimed. "You! I thought I got you with the bomb in your apartment! You are the cause of it all! Everything was your fault!"

"How was it my fault?" he questioned calmly. The detectives stood in awe at how he handled the situation so composed. Perhaps it had something to do with his inability to show any sort of expression, but something told them that he was simply unafraid of Maggie and her handgun.

"You would've ruined everything! You saw what Kyle did, you would've told! He would've gotten in trouble! I would've never been able to see him again."

"What he did was wrong, Maggie. You know it was wrong." Jeremy paused for a moment. "You didn't know what he did, did you? You believed Sally, instead of your best friend Sofia. You thought it was me."

Maggie nodded and lowered her weapon even more. "I didn't think she'd lie to me. I knew that Sofia would never have believed you did anything wrong, even if you had. And I was the same way with Kyle. So ready to believe he was perfect. And Kyle hated you. I don't know why, he really had no reason."

"Sometimes people do things for no reason."

"And you know what? After Sofia died, he called me a wimp, a nobody, a loser. He told me I should die. After all I gave him . . . after all I did for him . . ."

"He told you to shoot her, didn't he?"

"No," Maggie replied, tears filling her eyes. "He told me to shoot _you_. But then Sofia got in the way."

_**October 16**__**th**__**, 2004**_

"_You can drop me off here," Maggie told the cab driver a block from her high school. As the trembling sixteen-year-old paid the driver and stepped out of the taxi, her mind raced through what she was going to do. She clutched her stomach, where her gun hid safely in her jacket. As she continued walking, her plan was interrupted._

"_Maggie! Hey!" Sofia Jackson stood right in front of her, looking very beautiful in her homecoming dress. "You look great! Let's go in, I'm meeting Jeremy."_

"_I can't," Maggie replied._

"_Why not?" Sofia asked. "Do you want to talk to me?"_

"_Not here," she said. Sofia led her to a path that strayed into a small forest. They were blocked from sight by several bushes, so no one else could see what happened._

"_Talk to me," said Sofia._

"_I can be with him forever," Maggie said dreamily, touching the gun in her jacket. She didn't even notice that it had come into view._

"_Maggie! What is that?" asked her friend._

"_I can be with him forever . . ."_

"_Who?"_

"_Kyle."_

"_What? Kyle? Don't you know what he did to Sally?"_

"_That wasn't him!" Maggie exclaimed. "Jeremy did that!"_

"_Jeremy would never do that! You know him! You're his friend!"_

"_I can't be his friend and stay with Kyle too. He can't be around. Jeremy has to go. That's why I'm here."_

"_Maggie, no! You can't do this! We can get through this--" Sofia reached for Maggie's gun._

"_Get away! I have to do this!"_

"_No, stop it!_

"_Get away!"_

"_Give me the gun!"_

"_GET AWAY!" _

_The gun went off. Sofia's eyes widened, and Maggie dropped her gun to the ground. In what seemed like an eternity, Sofia fell to the ground. In an attempt to stop her, Maggie grabbed her necklace, but all it did was snap off. She couldn't scream—everyone would hear her. Maggie looked around frantically, hoping she could automatically know what to do, praying she could undo everything. She darted around and ran away from her best friend's bleeding body._

"_Wait—" Maggie heard Sofia cry._

"_I'm so sorry," she sobbed and turned around. She walked back to her friend._

"_You didn't mean to . . ." Sofia shuddered and took one final breath before closing her eyes one last time. Maggie stroked her hair and left her alone._

"I didn't mean to do it!" she cried. "But I couldn't stand to do that to anyone else again—I just couldn't! Until Kyle turned on me . . ."

"It's okay," Jeremy said quietly. "It's over now."

A wave of insanity flashed through Maggie's eyes. "No. Not yet." She raised the gun again and pointed it at Jeremy. Everyone jumped, but instead of shooting her original target, she turned the gun on herself and put a bullet through her chest.

"No!" everyone cried in unison. Maggie crumpled to the ground, writhing in pain. Scotty rushed to her, and, miraculously, found that she was still alive. The bullet missed her heart.

Several minutes later, an ambulance arrived at the scene and got Maggie hooked up to several machines. Stillman handcuffed her to the stretcher and read her Miranda rights. Lily and Scotty rushed over to Jeremy, who stood shaking in the same exact spot. They were even more surprised to see Gardner standing beside him.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"Water under the bridge," Jeremy replied, extending a hand. Gardner shook it, and opened the door for a wonderful friendship between them. He soon left, leaving Jeremy standing alone with his thoughts.

"We caught her. After three years, we finally know who killed Sofia," he said aloud.

"Are you okay?" Lily asked.

"I'm good," he answered. All three of them walked outside without another word. All of a sudden, Jeremy looked up to the sky. As he stared up to heaven, Lily could have sworn she saw Sofia Jackson standing by, smiling and waving at her best friend. She looked back at Jeremy, and could not believe her eyes.

"I'm good," he said again, grinning from ear to ear. They noticed a tear in his eyes, but nothing could hide his obvious joy as he continued smiling broadly into the vast blue sky.


	11. Author's Note 2

Hey everyone

Hey everyone! I hope you liked my first fanfiction! I'm sorry it took me so long to finish, though. I hope you all read my next one, which will come to Fanfiction soon! Thank you so much for your nice comments, I hope I gave you a good enough ending!


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